Drowning

I don't own FF…..but I do have Advent Children and FF7 for PS1…….huzzah!

AN: i know Bahamut destroyed the monument in Advent Children before Cloud even got there, but i needed the monument, so Bahamut had to demolish some other structure previous to where my fanfic starts.

Tifa sits up, eyeing him gently. "Cloud, what are you so afraid of?"
Cloud looks away, trying to find a decent answer. "Nothing."
"So, do notgive up on the rest of us. Cloud. Cloud? Are you listening to me?"

The man shrugs her hand off his arm.

Tifa grinds her teeth and leans closer to her companion. "We have a battle to win. You better not let me down."
The threat does not ingnite the flame of defiance in Cloud's eyes. Infact, he looks rather deflated after Tifa's prodding.
"As long as you and those two children don't get hurt…Tifa, stay here. I don't want you to get Involved."
"Don't worry about us...just focus on what you have to do."
Cloud hold her eyes with his gaze. "I can not save anyone. Not even myself...not my family, not my friends..."

FYI: this scene is a tweeked version of Advent Children. it starts after Bahamut SIN is destroyed tear. Don't compare this part to the movie too much cuz i have really messedwith it...Scene: ruins of the old Capital. Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel stayed while Cloud drove back toward them after defeating Bahamut SIN. Kadaj himself doubled back to the Capital to transform into Sephiroth without Cloud's interferience. He holdsJenovah's neck conatined within the leaking box between his trembling palms.

Marlene struggles through the crowd, holdingDenzel's hand. "Tifa…Where is Cloud? Why hasn't he come…"
Tifa's nervous demeanor does nothing the help the children remain calm. Level headed as she usually remained, this situationis radically excalating out of dominance. Tifa realizes that she has to vacate the square...but the populous surges forward toobserve the self proclaimed "healer" of Geostigma. Kadaj smirks, his silver hair tossled in the slight draft. Pitiful.Cloud canot save this world from getting what it deserves!

Tifa acts quickly as she can under the circumstance,
"Denzel, take Marlene back to the shop. Wait there...for me..."
Her trail of thought becomes foggy as the familiar motorcycle peels to a stop in front of the three. Cloud removes his goggles and puts his feet down on the ground for balance. Denzel grins and Marlene's neurotic demeanor fades away.
"Come home too, won't you, Cloud?"
Denzel looks up to the man with hopful sternness. Cloud nods, "Hai"...and the children dissappear into the rear of the crowd.

Cloud pulls Tifa up behind him on the motorcycle. The crowd parts for the large machine and the path to the monument is clear. Kadaj sees them drawing quickly closer, and his smile drifts wider. Cloud jumps the bike off a fallen building frameworking, then abandons the bike for a stance right in front of the silver-haired enemy. Tifa takes control of the motorcycle, skidding both woman and machine off to a safer location. Cloud and Kadaj face off, molevolently matched. Kadaj strikes first, his kodachi rapid and graceful compared to Cloud's lugging blows with the Fenrir Blade. The battle ensues. Kadaj ends up hanging by his fingertips from the ledge of the monument. Cloud stands over him, looking down with an unreadable expression. Silver hair hides Kadaj's face, but his eyes betray his convictions about what must come next. He allows himself to fall, smiling openly up at Cloud. The box surrounding Jenova's neck separates under Kadaj's quick fingers. "Mother" 's cells soak into his chest, which causes Kadaj to scream in agonized pleasure. Cloud follows his decent physically falling, attemtping to catch up to his prey before Kadaj hits the ground. However, when fenrir colides with Kadaj, the eys Cloud embraces are those of Sephiroth, not the silver haird larva. Sephiroth's sword slides out from his uplifted hands...and the clash of the ex-soldiers begins.

Scene: It is merely an hour after Sephiroth has emerged. Tifa abandoned the others in the Air Ship to go to Cloud after his victory with Sephiroth completes itself. Cloud's eyes have their familiar feirce will to live that had abandoned its hold over him the past two years. The battle is looking in Cloud's favor, until someting goes terribly wrong...

There is a body on the ground between the two opposing foes. Sephiroth now steps over the corpse, glancing lazily down upon the man's brokenness. Tifa steps back, still in shocked disbelief of the situation displaying before her.

Sephiroth whips his sword to the side, blood sliding swiftly from the polished surface.His cold eyes meet Tifa's and he smirks, "Don't cry for him. You will see him soon enough. Now, I can't waste time monologuing. There's a civilization to destroy…"

Tifa eyes Cloud's seemingly lifeless body. This wasn't happening. This simply was not happening...andyet Sephiroth takes a second stridetoward her, drawing closer to the kill with every step.

Tifa positions herself for attack, tightening her gloves in anticipation. …staring up at the ex-soldierin terror. And then Sephiroth charges. Tifa catches the blunt of his blade with her foot and launches herself over his head. Sephiroth snatches her out of the air and impales her into the cement. He smirks, pointing the blade level with her eyes. She dives to the side, barely ahead of him. Tifa crouches, mainly because she can't stand up straight. Already the pain in her abdomin is gagging her senses.The woman jumps up onto a landing of the skeletal building behind her. Sephiroth stays below, like a patient parent inflicting punishment, hair sweeps out from his shoulders like a second cape. Tifa pulls herself up higher. She jumps from beam to beam, aiming for the best defensive position. Pulling herself up onto the landing, Tifa feels somethingshift inside her. There's ajolt of electric agony which Tifascreams out in unison with her body.A hand clutches the front of her jacket and hauls the woman up to the next landing. Sephiroth's eyes glare into hers. Fear erupts in a rush. Tifa chokes…crimson pours from her lips, running down along either side of her neck.

Sephiroth's blade slides easily through her stomach. Tifa's own body weight allows it to rip up through and out her shoulder as he lets her body fall the distance back down to the sidewalk below.

Music is gently playing somewhere behind the eyes, gently breathing into a sweat drenched face. Those Eyes search frantically for escape from the dark prison behind frozen lids. A scream builds up from the back of the mind…escalating into a wakening outburst. Cloud sits up; frantic, terrified, and nauseous. Vomit spills across his blankets, his body wretches repeatedly.Denzel sits up in the other bed across the small room.

Denzel rubs his fingers over his eyes, then plugs his nose. "Oh, gross-Cloud…you okay?"

Cloud throws the soiled blanket ontothe floorand stumbles out of the bedroom. He wretches once more while curled up in the hallway. This time, blood sprays the wood floor. Cloud rolls onto his back, heaving for air that isn't coming.

Reno and Rude are standing outside in the hallway. Both startle sharply and cringe further down the wall.Reno shakes his red hair in disntancedsympathy"You don't look so good."

Cloud drifts in a dark stupor as he watches the other men depart. In his dreams, he watched through Marlene's eyes as Tifa's twisted body sank sickeningly into the pavement. Sephiroth lefthim alive...why...?... It was more a matter of Sephiroth's ego than mercy act. He sees Tifa choking on her own fluids every time he blinks.

Tifa gone. Dead. She's so far away from where she belongs…and it's all his doing. A false alarm and a staged distraction kept the attention else where.

Dream Sequence -

Black engulfs his senses as panic seizes control. He eventually finds himself once more, but he's standing in a blank absence of white nothing. A hand rests on his shoulder.

Cloud kneels in the yellow flowers of Aeris' house.She stands behind him in the dream sequence..."Aeris, I killed her."

Aeris touches his shoulder "Where is her body, Cloud?"

"I don't…know. We looked...and i still couldn't find her…"

Aeris' smile appears in her voice "Go back. Look again."

Cloud turns to lookto look up ather "I can't!"

But Aeris is already gone. Cloud kneels gently upon the missing ground. "Aeris, I can't "

Marlene shakes hisshoulders in rough exasperation. "Cloud-o, Wake up!"

The child is sitting on his chest. Her eyes beckoning his to focus on her face.Ashort thirty-twohours ago, Marlene was a mess. This is the first time Cloud has seen her dry eyed. He almost wishes she'd go back to ignoring everyone…her eyes are more than he can handle…

Marlene separates him from his self pity by shouting down at him"I saw Aeris, Cloud! She came to me just now..."

Cloudchokes and sits up, thesmall girl falls into his lap. He wraps an armaround her to keepMarlene from tumbling onto the floor.The Child's excitment is unabridged, "Shetold me you'd save Tifa."

Cloud's painful smile should have been enough to tell Marlene that this was not a good subject to be ranting about at the moment, but the little girl prattled on,"Aeris woke me up. She said you would bring back Tifa...please, go get her Cloud."

"I…I don't know if I can do that…"

Cloud watches the tears start back up from before. Their little trails of sorrow stain her satin face. He is too weak to stop them…

Scene is another Dream Sequence.

Tifa smiles over Cloud's shoulder as the twowalkback from the cliff tohis motorcycle.

"Cloud? Cloud, wait up, you're walking too fast again."

"Do you want to be caught out here after dark?"

Tifa places a hand on hisarm and pants, out of breah."With you, I am safe. I'm not afraid to die"

Cloud's eyebrow raises in a double take, "Tifa why would you say something like that? Why should you be afraid to die..."

She laughs. Cloud looks at her, not sharing in the amusement…but the thing he was forgetting presses it's clawd fingers intohis skull. He stops smiling and grabs Tifa's arm

"Tifa! No, Tifa MOVE!"

Cloud's own sword, Fenrir, has already penetrated her from the back. She hangs from it like a rag doll…then slides slowlyfrom the weaponlike a delicate nightmare. Tifa smiles up at him, calm and unfeeling. She lies down on the ground…then starts to choke. Her mouth bubbles from the life fluid. Her breathing is raspy...useless.

"Does it hurt you to watch me?..."

Cloud can't answer..

"Will you hold me now?"

His arms clutch the dying woman to his chest...holding her halves together…futile attempt for healing. His face buries into the departing warmth. Tifa touches him…her hand is iced. She tries to talk, but only more blood drains from her lips. The torn diaphragm won't let her breathe.

"I can't save you Tifa…I'm too weak…I'm to weak…"

luvs

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